AAI · Ministry of Civil Aviation · India Airport Infrastructure Growth · Annual Analysis
Twenty-year overview (2004–2024) of operational airports across India — tracking the country's civil aviation infrastructure expansion. The number of operational airports grew from 74 in 2004 to 148 in 2024, more than doubling over two decades, driven by the UDAN regional connectivity scheme and sustained AAI investments.
Airports in 2024
148
Latest yearAirports in 2004
74
BaselineNet Gain (2004–2024)
+74
↑ 2× in 20 yearsPeak Single-Year Add
+14
In 2022UDAN Era Gain
+63
2017 → 2024Avg. Annual Addition
+3.7
Airports/yearTotal Operational Airports in India — Annual Count
Year-on-year airport count · Source: AAI, MoCA, Parliamentary records 2004–2024
Pre-UDAN Era (2004–2016)
Airport count grew modestly from 74 in 2004 to 85 in 2016, adding just 11 airports over 12 years. Growth was largely confined to metro and Tier-1 cities under AAI's existing mandate.
UDAN Inflection (2017 onwards)
The UDAN Regional Connectivity Scheme (launched Oct 2016, operational 2017) catalysed rapid airport development. India added 63 airports between 2017 and 2024 — nearly 6× the rate of the prior 12 years.
COVID-19 Resilience
Despite the pandemic severely impacting aviation traffic in 2020–21, airport expansion continued. India added 8 airports in 2021 alone, reflecting continued infrastructure commitment independent of passenger demand.
2022 — Record Year
2022 saw the highest single-year addition of 14 new airports, pushing the total to 141. This was driven by the maturation of UDAN Phase 3 & 4 projects and new greenfield airports in Tier-2/3 cities.
Annual Net Addition of Airports
New airports added (or retired) each year · Positive = net expansion · Bars coloured by era
India Airport Count — Year-by-Year Record
Source: AAI Annual Reports · MoCA Parliamentary Q&A · UDAN Scheme progress reports
| Year | Total Airports | Net Addition | Cumulative Growth | Era |
|---|